Your whole business, start to finish

Most heating firms run on four or five separate things: a diary, a certificate app, a quoting tool, an accounts package and a pile of receipts in the van. PipeworkHQ is one place for all of it.

Here is the whole thing in the order you actually do it. Where something is not finished, we say so.

1. 1

   Step 1: Get set up

   You

   Sign up with your name, email and business name. Then take a photo of your business card or your van, or paste your website address.

   PipeworkHQ

   Reads your business name, logo and colours off the photo or the website, and sets up your account with your branding already in place. You can also just type it in.

   You end up with

   An account that looks like your business, not a blank template.

   Not yet

   Companies House lookup is not wired into signup yet. Limited companies can still enter their details manually, and every business can change its legal structure and contact details later in Settings.

2. 2

   Step 2: Get found

   You

   Claim a web address for your business.

   PipeworkHQ

   Publishes a public page for you with your branding, the areas you cover, your trade accreditations as trust badges, and photos of recent work.

   You end up with

   A page you can put on a van, a card, or a Google listing.

   Not yet

   Your own domain name (yourfirm.co.uk) is in build. Today the page sits on a PipeworkHQ web address. You also have to claim the address yourself; we do not set one up for you at signup yet.

3. 3

   Step 3: Enquiries come in

   You

   Nothing. Someone fills in the form on your page.

   PipeworkHQ

   Puts the enquiry straight into your leads list with their details and what they asked for. You turn a lead into a customer with one action.

   You end up with

   A named customer with contact details, ready to quote.

4. 4

   Step 4: Quote the work

   You

   Build a quote from your price list. Offer options if you want, for example a straight swap or a full system upgrade.

   PipeworkHQ

   Sends the customer a link to their own page where they can read it, pick an option and accept. They can pay a deposit by card there and then.

   You end up with

   An accepted quote you can turn into a job without retyping anything.

5. 5

   Step 5: Do the job

   You

   Schedule it, assign an engineer, turn up and work.

   PipeworkHQ

   Holds the job, the property, the appliance history and the parts. Scan a QR code to send photos straight from your phone to the job. You can photograph a paper diary page and it will read the appointments off it.

   You end up with

   A job record with photos and notes attached to the right property.

   Not yet

   A proper offline mode for plant rooms with no signal is in build, and there are no native phone apps yet. You install PipeworkHQ from the browser.

6. 6

   Step 6: Certify it

   You

   Fill in the certificate on site and sign it on the screen.

   PipeworkHQ

   Produces the PDF, locks it so it cannot be altered afterwards, and emails it to the customer. Bundles certificates into one handover pack when a job needs several.

   You end up with

   A dated, signed, tamper-evident record you and the customer both keep.

   Not yet

   You submit to Gas Safe or MCS yourself. There is no public API to do that automatically and we will never pretend otherwise.

7. 7

   Step 7: Invoice and get paid

   You

   Turn the job into an invoice.

   PipeworkHQ

   Numbers it properly so the sequence cannot be broken, produces the PDF, and gives the customer a card payment link. The money goes to your own account, not ours. Record cash, cheque or transfer by hand if that is how you were paid.

   You end up with

   A paid, numbered invoice ready for your books.

   Not yet

   Paying by bank transfer through Direct Debit or open banking, which costs far less than card fees, is built but not switched on yet.

8. 8

   Step 8: Keep the books straight

   You

   Download the Xero invoice file. Photograph receipts as you get them.

   PipeworkHQ

   Reads the receipt and pulls out the supplier, date and amount for you to check. Exports your invoices in a format Xero accepts.

   You end up with

   Your paperwork in one place instead of a glovebox.

   Not yet

   Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent connections are in controlled provider testing. Automatic invoice and receipt sending is not available yet. Today the reliable route is the Xero export file. Your bank connects to your accounting software, not to us.